REMINDER H-1B Season Starts 4/1/2011: Get Your H-1B Cases Ready Now To File On April 1 for October 1, 2011 Start Date

Get Your H-1B Cases Ready Now To File On April 1 for October 1, 2011 Start Date

The U.S. Citizenship &amp; Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting new H-1B visa petitions for professional workers that count against the 2012 Fiscal Year (“FY2012”) cap on April 1, 2011. These professionals will be eligible to begin H-1B employment on October 1, 2011. Employers and professionals are urged to begin the H-1B petition process now to ensure their cases are ready to be received by the USCIS on April 1, 2011, the earliest possible filing date for an October 1, 2011 start date.

Employers should review their employment needs and determine whether any foreign national employees will be requiring H-1B visas. This is extremely important where employers are planning to hire foreign nationals who will soon graduate from U.S. universities. While many of these individuals may already have an employment authorization card, employers may still have to file an H-1B petition for them to ensure that there is no gap in their employment eligibility. Some categories to consider include foreign workers employed pursuant to F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT), TN status or J-1 status.

NOTE: The H-1B cap does not apply to foreign nationals who already hold H-1B status and are seeking to change their H-1B employer and/or extend their H-1B stay in the United States.

Please contact our office if you have any questions about this communication.